2. The Nightmare Prince
Chapter 2
Months ago, I did not even know elven clans still existed outside of lore. Now, I was about to vow with an elven princess who detested me.
“Couldn’t have done it without you, Gavyn.” I clapped the shoulder of one of the sea fae lords. Gavyn Seeker was only a few turns my senior, but had been a lord of a noble house since he was a small boy.
His curious voice that turned him into sea mist at the smallest drop of water made him built for assassinations. A mark would never see him coming.
Tonight, he was our eyes, following my sly bride from the palace to the royal township below.
Gavyn shook out the damp from his dark hair and readjusted a silk scarf over his head. His brown skin was still dripping in water from his shift. “This was more entertaining than actual noble duties. I hope the vows are equally exciting. Until tomorrow.”
With a wave, Gavyn split away from our group with a crowd of sea fae, his father, and some of the burly crew from the royal ship in his wake.
Vows. I forced a smile, a skill I perfected turns ago, whenever I wanted to hide disquiet from others.
Tomorrow, I would have a wife.
One who saw me as nothing more than a brute setting out to make her life miserable.
Perhaps she wasn’t entirely wrong. When I petitioned the elven king, I hadn’t thought much on what his granddaughter might want. Truth be told, I hadn’t thought of her much at all.
What I wanted was an end to war, a way to keep peace. When the elven tried to invade fae lands, I was desperate enough to stop it and took a magical oath that I would do anything to keep the fae realms safe.
The moment I discovered the elven created mystical familial bonds—so fierce they could not harm their kin without dreary consequences—I knew a marital vow would rid us of a threat from the Dokkalfar. With their fealty, the light elven clan would be crushed should they ever rise against us again.
Vows, a wife, were never in my plans. In truth, I purposefully avoided such a connection.
But I feared losing my people more.
Every damn kingdom in fae realms had already fought too many wars.
Once, we even battled sea fae. Nights like this where we schemed and laughed with the fae of the sea would’ve only ended in blood.
Those were wars of my childhood. Those were horrors that had never left me.
We had peace now, so it could be done again with elven clans. Even if it meant taking a reluctant wife kicking and screaming back to Klockglas, our royal township.
Warmth tangled with the chilled mist with each gust of wind. The Ever Kingdom always carried rich scents of satin blooms and clean brine. Lately, I traveled to the glittering royal city of the sea fae almost as much as I spent time in my own lands.
Livia, a friend since birth and a sister in all ways but blood, was the queen of the Ever. A surprise, to be sure. Erik Bloodsinger, the king, was a prickly sort, but she’d won his heart and sealed peace between the last of the fae realms with their alliance.
I was merely doing the same with the elven clans.
“We ought to be going.” Tait Heartwalker, Erik’s cousin and royal grouser, pinched his herb-rolled smoke between his fingers and inspected a curious clock he pulled from his pocket. It told the clock tolls, but also warned of danger. “It’s nearly time.”
“Feel anything?” I asked when we began the walk to the royal coaches awaiting to drive us back to the palace. The man’s magic revealed the desires of hearts. If the princess had secrets, Tait would know.
Heartwalker lifted his red-brown eyes. “She wanted to be defiant for the night.”
That was . . . unexpected.
When I first caught sight of the princess’s silver hair fading into the shadows of the gardens, I thought she might be running, not merely defying fate for a few tolls.
A bite of guilt dug into my chest when I settled onto the bench of a coach. Maybe I should’ve allowed her the moment to be free.
In truth, I thought the damn woman couldn’t feel. From the word of her own people, her magic made her cold and apathetic. Nothing but fire burned in her starlight blue eyes when she realized she’d been found out.
Another surprise—I wanted to see that fire again.
Sander took the seat beside me. My twin was gentler, always feeling so fiercely and with such passion. He could’ve been the one to make the alliance, but how could I rob him of the chance to find a true mate, a true love with another?
I never sought to give up my heart and those plans remained unchanged.
Sander nudged my shoulder. “Last chance to decide if you see this through.”
“You planning to be furious with me like our parents and every other king and queen?”
“Bloodsinger isn’t furious with you.”
“Only because the Ever King finds it entertaining and a way to get the elven folk out of his palace.”
Sander chuckled. “I’m your brother and will be at your side, even when you’re being a damn fool.”
Across from us, Aleksi settled on the bench. We were not blood related, but shared cousins since his aunt and my uncle were consorts. Much like Livia, Alek had been a friend to us since birth.
“What say you, honorable Rave warrior?” I used my toe to nudge his shin.
Alek sighed, running his fingers through dark hair he typically kept braided down the center of his skull. “We are here, aren’t we? What am I supposed to say at this point?”
Loyal Aleksi. Always there, even if he didn’t agree with the choices.
“Although,” he went on, his odd, gilded eyes pouring into me. “I’ve decided to stick to Rave camps and battle strategy. The way you sods are pairing off, next thing I know, I’ll be vowing with an empress I never met.”
“Wouldn’t be so bad, Alek.” Von grunted and pulled himself into the coach. His dark hair was cropped close on the sides and longer on the top, and his features were innocent—big, sad eyes and a smile that hid the true cunning he kept inside. With a sigh, he adjusted the cloak on his shoulders and sat back on the bench between Heartwalker and Alek, knocking Aleksi’s knee. “I’ll take an empress.”
Von was half-alver, but never presented with mesmer magic. We didn’t know if he would live like a mortal, or like magical blood. Not that it mattered. There were elixirs aplenty to extend mortal lives back home.
I was glad for it. Alvers like us lived centuries akin to fae, but without the aid of different magics or spell casts, our mortal friends would fade to the Otherworld too soon.
Von was older than the lot of us, and had become a playful, scheming brother of sorts to me and Sander.
“Well, both my fathers think you’re mad.” Alek kicked up one boot, resting it on my bench. “They even offered to keep you chained in the Northern realms until you come to your senses. I think Uncle Kase considered it.”
Ah, no doubt my father would be overjoyed to lock me away until I changed my mind about this entire vow.
I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m strategic, and I think you all are jealous.”
Heartwalker was the one who chuckled. “Jealous? To have a woman who knows how to slaughter men as a wife? No, Prince. This move is all yours.”
“Heartwalker.” I feigned a bit of stun. “Watch what you say, or I’ll seat you next to Mira the entire ceremony.”
Tait’s face twisted into a deep frown. He said nothing and looked out the window, likely bracing for the whirlwind the youngest royal of the earth realms brought with her.
Another like-a-sister, Mira was the princess of the glamour fae—illusionists and shifters and compulsion magic—and had it in for Tait Heartwalker since the grumbly fool seemed to be the only soul in the kingdoms who was not enraptured with her.
With a jolt, the coach set off toward the palace. Simple conversation overtook the ride. I listened, sometimes chuckled, but my thoughts were lost to the stink of the alehouse, to the disguised princess who almost seemed at peace for the few moments we allowed it.
On first glance, she was unthreatening. But when the elven tried to overtake the sea fae, I fought close to her, and there was no denying the woman handled a blade as well as any Rave warrior.
“Sander.” I kept my voice low, so only my brother would hear. “Do you see this as a betrayal? Tell me honestly.”
He arched a brow. “Why do you think that?”
“She nearly killed you.” There was the other purpose behind vowing with this princess. She had gifts and abilities strong enough they nearly killed my brother, a skilled fighter on his own.
Beneath Sander’s tunic was a gnarled scar across his middle.
“Jo, I’ve told you my thoughts on the elven princess.”
“Perhaps you are too forgiving.”
“She fought to protect the king, the same we would have done.” He adjusted on the bench. “You need to see the memory of it. Maj is willing?—”
“I don’t want to see it.” My jaw pulsed with tension.
Our mother was an alver capable of borrowing, sharing, or stealing memories. Sander shared the memory of his near death with her shortly after I petitioned the Dokkalfar king. Like him, my mother insisted I ought to see it.
I couldn’t. It was a nightmare I kept in my own imaginings. To see my brother truly fall, I would never be able to unsee such a thing.
“You know what it would do to me,” I said, voice rough. “You already know what not seeing it did.”
“I do, and wonder if you plan to share that part of you with the princess. She might be there when?—”
“After tonight, I doubt the woman will ever willingly be alone with me to ever experience the sight.”
“I think she should know about the attacks, that’s all.”
“Noted.” I propped my chin on my fist and watched the pale buildings of larger estates and cottages pass by the nearer we came to the palace.
Sander settled back against the bench. “To answer your question, it is not a betrayal. To the princess, we were invaders. But it does not lessen my concern for you. This is no small thing, brother.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Confidence bled through each word with enough vigor, I nearly believed the lie.
Aleksi used the back of his knuckles to strike the top of my knee, drawing my attention toward the front drive of the sea fae palace. “There’s Liv and Bloodsinger. They’re not alone.”
The gold of Livia’s intricate crown caught the gleam of the lanterns lining the curved drive. Her dark hair was free from braids and a little feral. Like her kingdom, like she’d become.
It suited her.
Erik Bloodsinger stood beside her, an arm around her waist, clad all in black, red eyes narrowed in his typical sour expression like he despised the whole of the world save for his queen.
The sea king wasn’t so wretched, not once the murderous outer layer was peeled away.
But the two faces beside them were the faces that tightened my stomach. “Daj keeps looking angrier the nearer this vow gets.”
Von laughed. “I’m not sure what’s worse—Kase’s frown or Malin’s flat expression. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, and that’s unsettling.”
True. My mother, normally vibrant, playful, and as devious as my father, wore a face as stone. Her crimson braids were tossed over one shoulder and her mouth was set—neither a frown nor a smile.
My father’s countenance teetered nearer to enraged when he caught sight of the coach. Whatever soft expression he kept in the presence of Livia faded knowing I was returning. The clash of gold and green in his eyes darkened to an inky pitch as his magic took hold.
Kase Eriksson was made of darkness. To me it was home, a comfort.
Ironic that my father controlled, manipulated, and killed through the power of fear, yet his glossy black eyes were a sign of his own. I knew they fretted over these vows; this choice had unsettled my entire household.
I hated it, but they wouldn’t dissuade me.
Not when it could protect them all.
“Livie.” Arms outstretched, I exited the coach, ignoring the alver king and queen for a moment longer. “Why the curdled face? Has Bloodsinger become a disappointment since we left?”
Bloodsinger’s lip curled, flashing the point of one of those elongated canines in his mouth. Gods, it did a heart good to irritate the Ever King.
“Seems you were successful, Prince.” Erik used his head to gesture toward the side of his palace.
The small unit of elven guards stomped toward the side doors. In the front was my fiery princess, still dressed in those ridiculous clothes and boots. As though she felt my stare, her sharp eyes found me in the shadows.
Without the slightest flinch, she turned away and strode into the palace, chin lifted.
As though she no longer felt a damn thing.
Livia used the back of her hand to strike the place over my heart. “Jonas, this doesn’t need to be done.”
“Not you, too. I’ve heard much the same the entire journey from them.” I gestured toward my mother and father.
They both cut their own looks my way, and I wished they hadn’t.
My parents had glares that lanced to the bones. Skilled in slyness, beneath the crowns they never wore, the truth was they’d lived half their lives as cutpurses and crooks.
My father took my mother’s hand, but kept his scowl on me. “Since you’re back, let’s get on with it.”
The Ever Queen followed them into the palace, smiling and chatting with my mother as though frustration only emerged near me.
“You’ve had her fretting over you for weeks.” Bloodsinger twirled a knife in his hand. “I dislike anyone who upsets my queen.”
“Threaten your disdain all you want, Ever King, I assure you this won’t be the last time I upset Livia. Or my mother and father. Been doing it for turns.”
A throat cleared behind me. The old palace steward puffed out his chest near the coach, causing his silken doublet, a size too small, to stretch at the seams. “If the proceedings are to continue, I do suggest we follow the alver king and queen and be on our way.”
My gut twisted. Raised with a father who could taste my fear and a mother who could rob me of any memory I tried to hide, I’d learned how to mask discomfort behind glib remarks and cavalier grins.
I hooked an arm around Sander’s neck, the other around Aleksi’s. “Well then, let us go and get me a wife before she runs again.”